More Fall Color: Barn Quilts of Wilkes

Double Wedding Ring. Sunbonnet Sue. Eight Pointed Star.

Many of us spent at least a few cold winter nights snuggled up under a heavy quilt or two at grandma’s house, more than likely artfully decorated with one of the patterns listed above. These quilt square patterns along with many others are passed along from generation to generation. Today, those colorful pieces of artwork can also be found decorating the barns around Wilkes County, adding a piece of folk art to the scenic drives of the back roads and enticing visitors to stray off the beaten path and find some hidden treasures in our midst.

Unique Outdoor Art

Drive through the back roads of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, the plains of Ohio, or the mountains of North Carolina, and you’ll see fields and farms dotted with old barns with a brightly painted quilt square decorating the building. Often these are made of plywood or pallets that are painted and hung on the building to add a little color to the landscape or to pass along a family’s heritage.

In Wilkes County, the barn quilts take a unique presentation, veering from the traditional painted wood. Instead, the barn art in Wilkes is an image of an actual quilt that has been printed onto lightweight PVC plastic. The plastic makes installation easier, as the material is lighter and easier to hang than wood. It turns out, the end result is also more authentic. “You can actually see the stitching on the quilts, just like you can when you have the quilt wrapped around your lap,” says Cathy McKenzie, who was executive director of the Cultural Arts Council of Wilkes at the time the barn quilts were established. “You would not believe the number of phone calls we got when we first hung these barn quilts from people who thought it was an actual quilt hanging on the barn, not a replica, and they were angry we were damaging a handmade quilt by putting it out in the elements.”

Painted, Not Sewn

There is one exception to the handmade, super-imposed quilts hanging on barns throughout Wilkes, and that’s the double wedding ring pattern that hangs on the barn on Highway 421. When Cathy began the project of creating a barn quilt trail in Wilkes County, the arts council partnered with the Wilkes County Quilters Guild, and together they worked on a program with the arts classes at North Wilkes High School to get the younger generation excited about this new folk art venture. “Out of about 70 students, only 2 said they had seen a family member quilting,” Cathy says. “This project was such a fun way to educate our students on the history of quilting and allow them to see what all is involved with the design and tradition behind the work.”

The students that were interested were encouraged to draw different quilt squares with their own interpretation of the historic patterns and paint them rather than quilt them. Anthony Younce’s interpretation of the double wedding ring pattern with an apple in the middle now has a permanent spot on the trail.

You just might see some other painted quilt squares on barns and sheds around Wilkes County. Many people have been inspired by the original works to do their own paintings, including Denise Kent. She moved to Wilkes County in 2007, and immediately fell in love with the quilts on the barns. “It reminded me of the trips my mom and sister and I used to take to Amish country in Pennsylvania, and the beautiful quilts the women there would create,” Denise says.

Denise took her love for painting to a larger scale, turning plywood into art for friends and family to decorate their property. “I just love the bright colors and the methodical painting of quilt squares,” Denise says.

Getting Off the Beaten Path

To see every barn quilt trail in Wilkes County, you have to drive along the back roads, viewing fall color, passing dairy farms, tobacco fields, vineyards, churches, and apple orchards. “Driving a barn quilt trail is a great day trip, and has brought a whole new opportunity for tourism to our area since we installed it in 2010,” Cathy says. “Not only do people come to see the quilts, but as they drive around, they see other things they can do in our area that bring them back for future day trips or longer visits. They might drive by an apple orchard and come back for a visit in the fall to pick their own apples, or happen upon a local winery that becomes their new favorite tasting venue.”

Plan your trip with the barn quilt map and see how many of these great quilt squares you can visit in one day.

Heritage Square, Splash Pad 100 E Main St, Wilkesboro

Wilkesboro Sundial, Wilkesboro Police Department 100 West St, Wilkesboro

Stardust Cellars: Four barn quilts located in outdoor seating area, 1202 Curtis Bridge Rd, Wilkesboro

Stars Aglow, The Record Park, Corner of 4th & E St, North Wilkesboro

Baby Bovines, 1842 Country Club Rd Wilkesboro (east of Hwy 16/18 S.)

Double Wedding Ring Visible from US Hwy 421 just east of Red, White, and Blue Rd. Exit

Tulip Block, Sparta Rd. (North) at the intersection of Yellow Banks Rd, North Wilkesboro

Lightening Strike, 5900 Boone Trail, Millers Creek

Lemoyne Star, 7688 N. NC Hwy 16, Millers Creek

Fan, 1335 Shingle Gap Rd, Purlear

Double Wedding Ring, 319 Shingle Gap Rd, Purlear

Eight Pointed Star, 11605 W. US Hwy 421, Purlear

Dresden Plate, 2241 Lewis Fork Baptist Church Rd. Ferguson

Log Cabin, 11926 W NC Hwy 268, Ferguson

Vegetable Garden, 689 Glenn Carlton Rd, Boomer

Sunbonnet Sue, 6281 S. NC Hwy 18, Moravian Falls, NC